Method and means for slitting and opening tubular material



July 27, 1965 s. COHN ETAL 3, 96,723

METHOD AND MEANS FOR SLITTING A N D OPENING TUBULAR MATERIAL Filed April18, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTCRS SAMUEL COHN JOSEPH COHN BY EUGENECOHN FRANK CATALLO Yw /MJ ATTORNEYS July 27, 1965 s. COHN ETAL 3,196,723METHOD AND MEANS FOR SLITTING AND OPENING TUBULAR MATERIAL Filed April18. 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 llllll'" FIG. 2

mmvroks SAMUEL COHN TOSEPH COHN BY EUGENE COHN FRANK CATALLO w w/ma idwwATTORNEXS V July 27,: 19 65 s. COHN ETAL METHOD AND MEANS FOR SLITTINGAND OPENING TUBULAR MATERIAL Filed April 18, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.IHIHIIL.

I TORS SAMUEL COH N JOSEPH COHN BY EUGENE COHN FRANK CATALLO 777W WATTORNEYS s. COHN ETAL r umuon AND MEANS FOR suwme AND OPENING TUBULARMATERIAL Filed April 18, 1961 July 27, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORSSAMUE L COH N TOSEPH COHN BY EUGENE COHN FRANK CATALLO 747MHz;

ATTORNEYS July 27, 1965 s. COHN ETAL.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR SLITTING AND OPENING TUBULAR MATERIAL United StatesPatent 3,196,723 METHOD AND MEANS FOR SLITTING AND OPENING TUBULARMATERIAL Samuel Colin and Joseph Cohu, New York, Eugene Cohu,

Great Neck, and Frank Catallo, Elmont, N.Y., assignors to SarneoeHolding Corporation, Woodside, N.Y., a corporation of New York FiledApr. 18, 1961, Ser. No. 103,927 18 Claims. (Cl. 83-23) The presentinvention relates to the processing of fab: rics, and particularlytubular knitted fabrics. More specifically, the invention is concernedwith novel and improved arrangements for the slitting, opening andhandling of tubular material, especially distortable material such astubular knitted fabrics, whereby significantly improved control ismaintained over the material throughout and undesirable distortions ofthe material are reduced to a practical minimum. Although it iscontemplated that the invention may be used to advantage in connectionwith any easily distortable tubular material, its anticipated area ofgreatest utility is in connection with the slitting, opening andhandling of tubular knitted material, and the specific description ofthe invention will be made with particular reference to such materials.

Conventionally, knitted materials are manufactured in tubular form oncircular knitting machines and, usually, the end use of the material iscalculated to take advantage of the existing tubular construction of thematerial. However, for some end uses it is desirable to use the knittedmaterial in flat form, which requires that the circularknit-rnaterial beslit longitudinally, opened, and laid flat for further proceessing.

In the processing of knit material it is always important to reduce to aminimum distortions, tensions and like influences, which may impart anirregular appearance to the material and render it subject tonon-uniform shrinkage or stretching during subsequent processing anduse. The maintenance of constant, effective control over the material,to eliminate undesirable distortion and tensions is extremely difficultand has been the subject of great experimental effort, even inconnection with knit materials handled in tubular form. The problems anddifficulties are greatly magnified when dealing with knit material inslit,.fiat form, particularly with respect to edge portions of thematerial, which are unsupported on one side and have a strong tendencyto curl. able tensions and distortions significantly affect thewidthwise dimensions of the material, and uneven or uncontrolled changesin width dimensions can result in severe losses of material insubsequent cutting operations, for example.

In accordance with the present invention, tubular knitted material isconverted to open width material in a novel and greatly improved manner,such that the material is at all times under close control and in acondition of uniform absence of tensions. The resulting open Widthmaterial is reliably uniform in width, free of dis- Moreover, undesir--tortions, and is presented in rolled or folded form, ready for suchfurther handling or treatment as may be necessary or desirable.

In the handling of the material, in accordance with the invention, thetubular material is first passed onto a frame, which positions andcontrols the material and advantageously puts it in the form of aflattened tube. The positioned and controlled material is advancedlongitudinally past a slitter knife, which severs the tubelongitudinally and centrally between the edges of the tube. The slitmaterial continues its longitudinal movement and is opened by turningback and laying flat the margins of material on opposite sides of theslit.

- As a particularly important feature of the invention,

3,196,723 Patented July 27, 1965 the opening of the slit material iscarried out in a novel and improved manner, such that all longitudinalportions of the material are controllably caused to travel through thesame total distance while the material is being opened to its fullwidth. In this respect, central portions of the fabric are diverted andcaused to pass through predeter mined lengthened paths equal in lengthto the oblique path followed by a slit edge portion, for example, intravelling from the center area of the intact tube to the extreme edgeof the fiat, open width material.

As a further important aspect of the invention, the slit material isadvanced longitudinally, during the opening thereof to full width, bymaintaining driving engagement with central portions of the material.This procedure maintains the sensitive edge areas of the material freeof tension and effectively avoids curling of the edges. Further, theimproved procedures and arrangements of the invention are such that, asthe material progressively is opened from tubular form to fiat form,progressively increasing center areas of the material are gripped andbrought under control until, when the material is completely flat, it isunder effective control from edge to edge.

In accordance with a more specific, but nevertheless significant aspectof the invention, the tubular material is conditioned for slitting andopening by first bringing the material under effective control,spreading and steaming the material to set it to predetermined width andto uniformly pre-condition it, and then delivering the material directlyand in' a controlled manner to the slitting and.

opening station. Particularly advantageous results are achieved byspreading and steaming the material directly in advance of slitting andopening and without the interposition of any intermediate handlingoperations, since accurate guidance and control of the material isbetter assured and, perhaps more important, the formation of creases orfolds at the edges of the tube is avoided, allowing the material to beopened to a perfectly fiat condition after slitting.

For a better understanding of the invention and for a further discussionof the above and other advantageous features of the invention, referenceshould be made to the following detailed description and to theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus in accordance with theinvention for slitting and opening distortable tubular materials, suchas tubular knitted fabrics;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, with partsbroken away. to show details of the drive system therefor;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, with parts thereofshown in section taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross sectional view of slitting andguiding means incorporated in the apparatus of FIG. 1; i

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a novel guiding and opening frameincorporated in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross sectional view taken alongline 66 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of a modified form of the apparatus ofFIG. 1, incorporating means, directly in advance of the slitting andopening means, for controlling, setting to width and preconditioning thematerial.

Referring now to the drawing, and initially to FIGS. 1-3 thereof, theapparatus of the invention comprises, broadly, means 10to supply tubularknitted fabric, a guiding frame portion 11, a slitting station 12, anopening frame portion 13, a control conveyor 14 and means 15 to receivethe slit and opened fabric. In the first illustrated arrangement ofFIGS. 1-3, the tubular material 16, pre-set to uniform width anduniformly preconditioned, is presented in loosely folded but evenlystacked- 3 form in a receptacle 17. The fabric is drawn from thereceptacle 17 and passed over the guiding frame portion 11, whichcontrols and aligns the fabric and arranges it in uniform flattenedcondition for slitting. The fabric is advanced over the guiding frameportion 11 and carried past the slitting station 12, where it isprogressively slit longitudinally, advantageously exactly along thecenter.

After slitting, the bottomlayer of the flattened tubular material isdirected relatively sharply downward by the opening frame portion 13,while the slit edge portions of the material are directed generallyoutward and forward; The bottom layer, after a predetermined downwarddiversion, is then directed upward and forward by the opening frame,such that all'portions of the fabric ultimately merge at and continue totravel in a single plane. In" accordance with an important aspect of theinvention, the configuration and proportions of the opening frameportion are such that'all longitudinal portions of the fabric arecontrollably and reliably caused to travel through substantiallyidentical distances in reaching a predetermined line of a common fiatplane, whereby distortions of and undesirable tensions in the fabric areavoided effectively.

At the point where the bottom layer of the slit fabric is directedupward, it' advantageously is brought into control contact with aconveyor blanket 18, which grips the fabric and advances it underneaththe opening frame portion 13. At the point of initial control contact,the conveyor blanket engages a center area of the fabric equal to abouthalf its width. As the blanket and fabric advance beneath the openingframe portion, the outer margins of the fabric tube are openedprogressively, so that increasing areas of the fabric are brought intocontrol contact with the blanket 18 until, when the material is fullyopen, the entire width of the fabric is in contact with the blanket. Theblanket then conveys the material to a folder or roll-up, whilemaintaining effective dimensional control of the fabric.

Of great significance, the fabric is maintained completely free ofundesired tension and distortion throughout, so that the finished, openwidth material, in rolled or folded form, has even predetermined widthdimensions andis free. of curl at the edges. In its folded or rolledform, the fabric isready for cutting or for such further processing orhandling as may be desirable or appropriate at that time. i

The specific apparatus .of FIGS. 16 includes a frame 19 having aplatform 20 at its front end for supporting a basket or receptacle 17containing folded tubular fabric 16. A guide roller 21 is journaled atthe front of the frame and guides the fabric in its travel from thebasket 17.

Also journaledon the machine frame 19 is a feed roller 22, arranged tounderlie and receive material traveling from the basket 17. The feedroller 22 advantageously has its-outer surface covered with felt, forexample, or other material adapted to maintain an effective gripping andcontrol contact with the fabric.

As shown best in FIG. 2,,the feed roller 22 is arranged to be driven at:apredetermined speed by a motor 23, through a speed reduction systemcomprising variable pulley 23a, pulleys 24f-26and belts 2749, andsprockets 39', 31 and chain 32. The speed relationship between the motor23 and feed roller 22 is adjustable by varying the vertical positioningof the motor 23, using means such as a hand wheel 23B, for example.

In accordance with the invention, a combined guiding and opening frame.11, 13 is mounted at its trailing end to the frame 13 and issupported'at its other end by the feed roller 22 or by other means.Advantageously, the guiding and opening frame comprises a pair. ofrod-like sections 33, 34, of symmetrical. design, which are adjustablyconnected to accommodate variations in width.

The leading portion of the frame comprises parallel rod portions 35, 36,which are generally horizontally disposed and are bent inward, towardeach other, at the ends and are received within a tubular section 37,with which at least one of the rod portions is slidably related foradjustment.

On the trailing side of the feed roller 22, the frame sections areformed by parallel rod'portions 38, 39, which extend downward,advantageously at an angle ofabout 120 with respect tothe horizontalportions 35, 36. At the base of tie downwardly extending portions 38,39, an adjustable.interconnection is made by means of tubular sectionas, secured to'the rod portion 39, in which is slidably received atransverse rod 41, secured to the opposite rod portion 38.

Extending outward, somewhat upward, and in the direction of fabrictravel, from the base of the rod portions 38, 39 are diverging rodportions 42, 43, which extend to a width somewhat greater than twice thewidth of the parallel rod section at the leading end of the guiding andopening frame. The diverging rod portions advantageously make an angleof slightly more than with respect to the rod portions 38, 39, whenviewing the apparatus in elevation, as in FIG. 2. At'the trailing edgeextremities of the diverging rod portions, there are secured transversetubular sections 44, '45, which are received slidably on a transversesupport rod 46, mounted on the machine frame 19.

The two symmetrical sections of the guidingand opening frame arearranged to be held in a predetermined, adjusted position foraparticular width of fabric and, as willbe described in greaterdetail,the sections of the frame are disposed in a special geometricalarrangement to effect conversion of the fabric from tubular to openwidth form without distortion.

Journaled in the machine frame 19, generally below the trailing portionof the guiding and opening frame, are a pair of transverse rollers 47,48, about which is trained the conveyor blanket 1'8. Advantageou-sly,the leading end roller 47 is disposed directly under the base portion ofthe guiding and opening frame, formed by the junction of the parallelportions 38, 39 and the diverging portions. The arrangement is such thatthe frame rests upon the blanket 18, directly over the roller 47. Inaddition, the frame advantageously is urged downward, into firm contactwith the blanket 18, by means of an adjustable pressure bar 49, whichacts between the transverse connecting sections 49, 41 and acantilevered structure 54 to be described, supporting a slitting head51.

The trailing end of the guiding and opening frame also rests upon theblanket 18, somewhatin advance of the trailing roller 48. In thisrespect, the transverse rod 1 6 is received in vertically slottedbrackets 52, which permit the frame to bear against the blanket by'itsown Weight. In addition, a support plate 53 advantageously is positionedunderneath the upper reach of the blanket, supporting the blanketbetween the rollers 47, 43 and providing for contact between the blanketand'frame along substantially the full extent of the diverging rods 42,43.

As shown best in FIG. 2, the conveyor blanket is drawn in variable speedrelationship with the feed roller 22, through a drive system including avariable pulley 54 rotating with the pulley 25. A belt 55 connects thevariable pulley 54 with a pulley '56 mounted on the end of an adjustingarm 57. The arm 57 is pivoted between its ends, on a shaft 58, and isengaged at. its upper end by a threaded shaft 59 having hand wheels 60at each end. By manipulation of the hand wheels so, the pulley 56 may beswung toward or away from the variable pulley 54, so that the effectivediameter of the latter may be varied to change the speed of the pulley56 relative to the feed roller 22.

Driving of the conveyor blanket 18 is done through the trailing endroller 48, which is journaled by the shaft 53 and is fixed to a sprocket61. The sprocket 61 is, in

turn, driven by a chain 62, from a sprocket 63 fixed to the pulley 56.

Mounted in cantilever manner at one side of the machine frame andextending over the top of the fabric 16 is the slitter assembly 50,which includes an elongated support tube 64 journa'ling a shaft 65 (FIG.4-). At its free end, the shaft 65 mounts a circular slitter blade 66,which is positioned substantially exactly between the edges of thefabric tube passing over the guide frame. The slitter shaft is driven bya separate, high speed motor 67, independently of the feed roller 22 andconveyor blanket 18.

A guiding and supporting tongue 51a forming part of the slitter head,extend-s toward the leading edge of the guide frame, between upper andlower layers of fabric passing over the frame. The tongue guides theupper layer of the fabric properly into the slitting edge and alsosupports the fabric as it passes the blade, so that the slitting actionis positive and efficient.

In one form of the invention, the open width material advanced by theconveyor blanket 18 is folded loosely, back and forth on a platform 68.For this purpose, the platform may be mounted on suitable tracks 69 forto and fro movement and may be driven by an endless chain 70 engagingthe platform through a crank 71. The chain 70 is driven in variablespeed relation to the con- Veyor blanket through a series of belts andpulleys 7 77, including an intermediate, variable pulley 75 mounted onan adjustable bar 78. The bar 78 is movable by a threaded shaft 79 andhand wheel 86. The arrangement is such that movements of the platform 68normally follow in fixed relation to rotations of the roller 48, but maybe adjusted with respect thereto to assure uniform, even folding ofmaterial discharged from the conveyor blanket 18.

In another form of the invention, the open width fabric discharged fromthe conveyor blanket 18 is rolled up on a bar 81 (FIG. 6) resting on theblanket and guided for vertical movement by slotted rails 82. In theapparatus of FIGS. 1-6, roll-up and folding facilities are provided foralternate use, as may be desirable or expedient.

In the operation of the apparatus of FIGS. 16, a supply of tubularknitted material, previously set to prede termined width, preconditionedand arranged in folded or other useable form, is positioned insubstantial alignment with the guide frame and is threaded over theleading end of the frame. The material is drawn over the guiding framesnfficiently to establish control contact with the feeding roller 22and, advantageously, sufficiently to be brought into control contactwith the conveyor blanket 18. As indicated in FIG. 2, the guide frame isslightly wider than the relaxed width of the fabric, such that thefabric passing over the frame is sufficiently taut to be wrinkle-freeand capable of accurate handling and control.

The fabric tube is drawn continuously past the rotating slitter knife bythe feed roller 22, which is driven at a preset speed by the motor 23and intermediate system. By means of the guide frame 35-37, the tube isaccurate- -ly aligned with the knife and brought into uniformdimensional condition prior to reaching the knife.

As the material passes the slitting knife, the top layer of material isslit, and the slit edges are caused to diverge toward an open widthcondition.

In accordance with an important aspect of the inven-. tion, thecontrolled handling of the material, immediately following slitting andwhile the material is being converted to an open width condition, issuch that all longitudinal portions of the material are caused to travelthrough paths of equal length, with particular regard to maintaining theslit edge areas of the material in a completely tension free condition.To this end, the bottom layer of the material, as for-med by thefiattube passing over the guide frame, is kept in a flat condition butis diverted downward by portions 38, 39 of the opening frame. -Afterdownward travel through a predetermined distance, designated A in FIG.5, the bottom layer of material (which actually is the center area ofthe slit fabric) passes around the bar 40-41 and is brought into firmcontrol contact with the conveyor blanket 1-8, which is traveling alongan upward incline.

The diverging portions 42, 43 of the opening frame, lying upon theblanket 18, cause the fabric to be spread flat on the blanket, in aprogressive manner, working from the edges of the already fiat centerarea outward toward the slit edges.

When the space between the divergent opening frame sections 42, 43equals the full width of the slit fabric, the fabric passing under thatportion of the frame will have been laid flat on the conveyor blanket,in a fully open condition. The point at which this occurs is indicatedby a transverse dotted line B in FIG. 5.

As will be understood, the flat center portion of the fabric, in movingfrom the slitting knife to the fully open condition indicated by theline B, will travel downward through a distance A and outward along theconveyor blanket a distance C (curvatures at the principal bends in theframe being ignored for purpose of this explanation). Accordingly, asone of the principles of the invention, the angle of diversion of theopening fra'me portions 42, 43 is calculated and adjusted such that thestraight line distance D, from the slitting knife to the intersection ofthe opening frame and the line B, is equal to the sum of the distances Aand C. Thus, the distance D to he traveled by the slit edge extremity isthe same as the distance A-i-C to be traveled by the center portion ofthe fabric. Further, it is capable of geometric demonstration, that thelongitudinal portions of the fabric lying between the slit edgeextremity and the fiat center portion likewise will travel through equaldistances in moving from the slitting line to the open width line B.

As will be understood, by controlling the angle of divergence of theopening frame sections 42, 43, the distance C can be controlled inrelation to the distance D, to insure equality between the distance Dand the sum of the distances A and C. In a typical apparatus, onlylimited adjustment is required, and this may be effected by moving thetubular sections 44, 45 to predetermined positions along the rod 46 andsecuring them in position by clamping screws 44a, 45a, for example.

As one of the significant, specific aspects of the invention, theopening of the fabric to full width is accomplished by maintainingcontrol contact between center areas of the fabric and the movingconveyor blanket 18, which is made from a dimensionally stable materialwith good gripping characteristics. When the material first passes underthe bar 40-41, only the flat bottom layer of the fabric (constitutingabout one-half the width) is gripped and advanced by the blanket. But,as the fabric continues to advance, the material is progressivelyflattened from the center area out toward the edges, and progressivelywider center areas are brought into control contact with the blanket,being thereafter driven forward by the blanket and maintained therebyunder effective dimensional control. The extreme edges of the materialare not brought into driving contact with the blanket until the fabricis fully open, and this helps assure that no tensions are applied to thefabric edges while the fabric is being drawn into its open widthcondition.

After the fabric is fully open and lying flat on the blanket, it isadvanced by the blanket in a completely tension free condition and undereffective dimensional control. If the fabric is rolled up directly fromthe blanket, dimensional control is effectively retained until thefabric subsequently is unwound for further processing. However, evenwhere the fabric is deposited in folds on the reciprocating platform 68,wholly adequate dimensional control is realized, because of thecompletely tension free condition of the material, its uniform openwidth dimensions, resulting from distortion, and tension-free slittingand opening, and the accurate registry of the side edges.

With especially distortable, light Weight materials, itmay beadvantageous to drive the conveyor blanket at a Very slightly slowerspeed than the feed roller 22. This promotes even further assurance of atension, free condition in the fabric.

The form of the invention shown in FIG. 7 incorporates, in combinationwith the apparatus of FIGS. l6, means for preconditioning the fabric ina way to achieve a unique and particularly advantageous final result. inthe modified form of the invention, tubular knitted material ltltl isdrawn from a suitable supply ltll and passed over a'calender 192, wherethe fabric is laterally distended, steamed, set to predetermined widthand, if desired, relaxed in a lengthwise direction. Thethuspreconditioned material is passed directly onto the guide framesection of the slitting and opening apparatus previously described andis further processed in the manner outlined.

The modified procedure has certain particularly advantageous aspects,one of which resides in the fact that the material passing directly ontothe guide from the calender is very accurately aligned with the guideframe, and this avoids certain distortions which might otherwisev beinduced in the material'prior to slitting and cause a measure ofunevenness in the open width material through no deficiency of theactual slitting and opening operation. Further, and perhaps moreimportant, the fabric is converted to open width directly aftercalendering, without the intervention of folding, roiling or otherintermediate handling from which the edges of the tubular material couldbecome creased. As will be understood, edge creases in the tubularmaterial will appear as longitudinal ridges in the open Width material,which is not only undesirable from the standpoint of appearance, but maycause irregularity in open Width dimensions and nonuniformities in thematerial as subsequently processed.

Referring more specifically to the apparatus of FIG. 7, there is mounteddirectly in advance of the previously described slitting and openingapparatus a calender ltlZ, comprising a spreader frame 103a, steamers 1Mmounted above and below the trailing portion of the spreader frame, andan air screen nozzle 18 5 positioned between the steamers and an edgedrive roll mechanism M31: of the spreader. The spreader advantageouslymaybe of the type shown and described inthe S. Cohn et al. US. PatentNo. 2,589,344, issued March 18, 1952, or in the S. Cohn et al. US.Patent No. 2,228,001, issued January 7, 1941. In spreaders of suchconstruction, the fabric is gripped internally by belts, at the edges ofthe flattened tube of material, and driven by the edge drive assembliesN31). If

positive lengthwise relaxation; is desired, separate belts are providedon the leading and trailing portions of the spreader, and theleadingbelts travel at a somewhat greater speed than the trailing belts.

Fabric 109, drawn from the source ltll, is drawn over the spreader frame103a, which laterally distends the fabric and maintains it at apredetermined uniform width. The fabric is then steamed, and therebyuniformly conditioned and set in its dimensions.

As shown in FIG. 7, the. discharge end of the spreader frameadvantageously is directly oppositeto and carefully aligned with theleading end of the guide frame, such that the preconditioned and alignedfabric passes directly onto the guide frame for slittingand openingunder con ditions of uniquely superior uniformity. The resulting, openWidth material is particularly uniform and is free of longitudinalcreases and other undesirable distortions.

Advantageously, the'preconditioning apparatus is driven in directrelation to the feed roller 22 of the slitting and opening apparatus.The apparatus of FIG. 7 effects this result by driving the edge rolls1035 from a pulley 24 driven in fixed relation to the pulley 24 (FIG. 2)driving the feed roller. However, where desirable or expedient, variabledrive relationships may be introduced between the feed roller 22 and theedge rolls 16311, Where particular processing effects are sought.

The new method and apparatus constitute a significant advance in thepractice of converting distortable, tubular materials to fiat, openwidth materials. By. following the procedures and using the apparatus ofthis invention, greatly improved results are realized, in terms ofuniform, distortion-free open Width material. The substantial uniformityof width dimension enables significant economies to be realized in theuse of the material since, for many end uses, the minimunr width of anirregular material must be used as the eifective width of the entirequantity. Moreover, since the material is free of distortions, it ismuch more easily managed in subsequent operations and is significantlyless subject to'non-uniform dimensional changes in the finished product.

it should be understood that the specific forms of the invention hereinillustrated and described are intended to be representative only, ascertain changes may be made therein without departing from the clearteachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made tothe following appended claims in determining the full scope of theinvention.

lVe claim:

1;. An apparatus forslitting and opening distortable tubular knittedmaterial, which comprises guiding means, means for advancing thematerial over said? guiding means and along a predetermined axis, meansmountedadjacent said guiding means for slitting one layer of saidmaterial longitudinally as it is advanced, an opening frame positionedto receive slit material from said guiding means, said opening framecomprising a first portion guiding a central longitudinal area of theslit material through a predetermined path disposed at an angle to saidpredetermined axis and into a flat plane disposed at an angle to saidpredetermined path and a second portion controllably guiding outerlongitudinal areas of said slit material through predetermined divergentpaths and into said flat plane, said opening frame being so related tosaid predetermined aXis and to said flat plane that all longitudinalportions of said material are controllably guided through paths of equallength in travelling to a predetermined transverse line in said plane.

. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, in which said plane is formed by aconveying and supporting blanket positioned below said opening frame andhaving an upper surface positioned to engage and advance longitudinalareas of said material guided to said plane by said opening frame, saidmaterial being slit along its upper layer.

3. An apparatus for slitting and opening distortable tubular knittedmaterial, which comprises means for advancing and guiding the materialin a controlled manner along a predetermined axis, means for slittingone layer of the advancing material, unitary means having a firstportion for controllably directing the slit edges of the materialdivergently through paths of predetermined length into a predeterminedplane offset from the slitting means on the side opposite said onelayer, said unitary means having a second portion for controllablydirecting the intermediate longitudinal portions of said material at anangle to said predetermined plane through respective paths ofpredetermined length into said predetermined plane, said means forcontrollably directing the slit edges and intermediate longitudinalportions of the material being arranged to guide said material from thepoint of slitting to a predetermined transverse line on said plane insuch manner that all longitudinal portions of the material travelthrough equal distances, whereby all longitudinal portions of saidmaterial are maintained substantially free of tension.

4. The method of slitting and opening tubular material which comprisesadvancing the material longitudinally,

slitting one layer of the rnaterial along one side as it advances past apredetermined point, immediately thereafter directing the slit edges ofthe material in divergent directions until the material is in flat openwidth form in a predetermined plane, and controllably directing theintermediate longitudinal portions of the material, between the pointswhere the material is slit and where it is in flat form, through apredetermined path having a first portion disposed at a substantialangle to said plane and a second portion lying in said plane, such thatthe distance traveled by said intermediate longitudinal portions betweensaid points equals the distance traveled by said slitedges.

5. Apparatus for slitting and opening distortable tubu lar knittedmaterial comprising means for advancing the material longitudinally,cutter means mounted in predetermined relation to the advancing meansfor slitting one layer of the tubular material as it is advanced past apredetermined cutting point, unitary guide frame means having a firstsection for divergently directing the slit edges of the materialimmediately after the material advances to said cutting point to fiatopen width form ina transverse line of a predetermined plane, said guideframe means including a second section for controllably directing theintermediate longitudinal portions of the material, between said cuttingpoint and said predetermined plane, through a predetermined pathdisposedat a substantial angle to said plane, said guide frame means sodirecting the longitudinal portions of the slit material that thedistance traveled by said intermediate longitudinal portions of thematerial between said cutting point and the transverse line in saidplane equals the distance traveled by said slit edges between saidpoints in thelongitudinal advance of said material.

6. The method of slitting and opening tubular material which comprisesslitting the tube longitudinally, engaging and advancing a centerlongitudinal area of the slit material while directing the slit edgesthereof through divergent paths to open said material, and progressivelyengaging and advancing additional longitudinal areas of the material onboth sides of the center area until the material is engaged and beingadvanced across substantially its entire open Width, the material beingdelivered in the form of a flat tube, one fiat surface of the tube beingslit longitudinally and substantially centrally between the edges of theflat tube, said center longitudinal area comprising the other flatsurface of the tube, the respective longitudinal areas of said materialbeing engaged and advanced in a single plane, said other fiat surface ofthe slit tube being directed toward said plane at a large angle thereto,and the slit edges of the material being directed toward said plane at asubstantially smaller angle thereto.

7. The method of claim 6, in which said large angle is in the order of90.

8. An apparatus for slitting and opening tubular material, whichcomprises guiding means, means for advancing the material over saidguiding means and along a predetermined axis, means mounted adjacentsaid guiding means for slitting one layer of said materiallongitudinally as it is advanced, an opening frame positioned to receiveslit material from said guiding means, said opening frame comprising afirst portion guiding a central longitudinal area of the slit materialthrough a predetermined path into a fiat plane and a second portionguiding outer longitudinal areas of said material through predetermineddivergent paths and into said fiat plane, said opening frame being sorelated to said predetermined axis and to said flat plane that alllongitudinal areas of said material are guided through paths of equallength in travelling to a predetermined transverse line in said plane,said plane being formed by a conveying and supporting blanket positionedbelow said opening frame and having an upper surface positioned toengage and advance longitudinal areas of said material guided to saidplane by said frame, said predetermined axis being generallyhorizontally disposed, a portion of said opening frame constituting saidguiding means being mounted in a generally horizontal plane includingsaid axis, the plane of said blanket being below said generallyhorizontal plane, said first portion of said opening frame divertingsaid central longitudinal area of the material downward at a relativelysharp angle from said generally horizontal plane into the plane of saidblanket.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, in which the second portion of saaidopening frame comprises a pair of divergently related guide membersdisposed directly over said blanket and operative to progressivelydivert outer longitudinal areas of said material into the plane of saidblanket.

10. An apparatus for slitting and opening tubular material, whichcomprises means for advancing and guiding the material in a controlledmanner along a predetermined axis, means for slitting one layer of theadvancing material, unitary means having a first section forcontrollably directing the slit edges of the material divergentlythrough paths of predetermined length into a predetermined plane and asecond ection for controllably directing the intermediate longitudinalportions of said material through respective paths of predeterminedlength into said predetermined plane while maintaining all longitudinalportions of said material substantially free of tension, and means foradvancing the slit material in said plane, said means comprising aconveyor blanket engageable first with central longitudinal portions ofsaid material and subsequently and progressively with outer longitudinalportions of the material.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, in which the advancing and guiding meanscomprises means to guide the material in the form of a flat tube, and aroller gripping the layer of the material opposite the slitting meansand driven to advance the material at a predetermined speed, said conveyor blanket being engageable with a central longitudinal portioncorresponding to the last mentioned layer of the tubular material, andmeans for driving the conveyor blanket at a predetermined speed.

12. An apparatus for slitting and opening tubular material, whichcomprises means for advancing and guiding the material in a controlledmanner along a predetermined axis, means for slitting one layer of theadvancing material, means for controllably directing the slit edges ofthe material divergently through paths of predetermined length into apredetermined plane, and means for controllably directing theintermediate longitudinal portions of said material through respectivepaths of predetermined length into said predetermined plane whilemaintaining all longitudinal portions of said material substantiallyfree of tension, the means for controllably directing the slit edges andthe intermediate longitudinal portions of the material comprising anopening frame, said opening frame comprising first and second portionsrelated at an angle in the order of the first portion of said framecontrollably directing the intermediate longitudinal portions of saidmaterial as aforesaid and comprising parallel guide elements spacedapart a distance corresponding to the flat width of the tubularmaterial, and the second portion of said frame comprising a pair ofdivergent guide elements forming a plane and extending from the firstmentioned guide elements to a width at least as great as the open widthof the slit material.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, which includes conveyor means having aportion lying substantially in the plane defined by said divergent guideelements and operative to engage and advance material passing saiddivergent guide elements.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, in which the conveyor comprises adimensionally stable blanket having good gripping characteristics withthe slit material and operative to engage the slit material across thefull width thereof lying in said plane.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, in which the conveyor blanket has amaterial engaging and advancing portion extending lengthwise throughoutthe effective length of said divergent guide elements.

1 16. The apparatus of claim 14, which includes roll-up means resting onand'driven by said blanket.

17. The apparatus of claim 14-, which includes-folding means mountedadjacent and below the discharge end of said blanket for receiving andarranging into loose folds the slit and opened rnaterial.

18. The method of slitting and opening tubular material'which comprisesdelivering the material in the form of a flattened tube, advancing thetubelongitudinallypast a. slitting station and slitting one fiat surfaceportion of the tube longitudinally along the center thereof as it passesthe slitting station, directing the slit edges of said oneflat surfaceportion of the material along divergent paths and through apredetermined distance'to a conveying and supporting surface,directing-the other fiatlongitudinal surface portion of said materialbetween the slit edges thereof along predetermined paths equal in lengthto said predetermined distance, said other'flat surface portion: of thematerial being advanced directly and in a.

substantially flat plane from said slitting station to said conveyingand supporting surface and thereafter advancedin a different plane bysaid conveying andsupporting surface, whereby all longitudinal portionsof said material travel equal distances in advancing from said slittingstation to a predetermined line on said conveying and supporting surfaceat which said material is fully open, the longitudinal portions of saidmaterial between said slit edges and said other fiat surface portionfirstengaging said conveying and supporting surface at points betweenthe line at which said material is fully open and the line at which:said other flat surface portion engages said conveying and supportingsurface,. and thereafter conveying the fully open material from saidline at which said material is fully open' by engaging the materialacross its open width.

, References Cited by the Examiner UNlT ED STATES PATENTS 1,450,701 4/23Murray 26-54 1,801,757 4/31 Shippling 83-475 2,108,127 2/38 Kasanof26-55 3,015,145 1/62 Cohn et al. 2655 x DONALD W. PARKER, PrimaryExaminer.

RUSSELL C. MADER, MERVIN STEIN, Examiners.

1. AN APPARATUS FOR SLITTING AND OPENING DISTORTABLE TUBULAR KNITTEDMATERIAL, WHICH COMPRISES GUIDING MEANS, MEANS FOR ADVANCING THEMATERIAL OVER SAID GUIDING MEANS AND ALONG A PREDETERMINED AXIS, MEANSMOUNTED ADJACENT SAID GUIDING MEANS FOR SLITTING ONE LAYER OF SAIDMATERIAL LONGITUDINALLY AS IT IS ADVANCED, AN OPENING FRAME POSITIONEDTO RECEIVE SLIT MATERIAL FROM SAID GUIDING MEANS, SAID OPENING FRAMECOMPRISING A FIRST PORTION GUIDING A CENTRAL LONGITUDINAL AREA OF THESLIT MATERIAL THROUGH A PREDETERMINED PATH DISPOSED AT AN ANGLE TO SAIDPREDETERMINED AXIS AND INTO A FLAT PLANE DISPOSED AT AN ANGLE TO SAIDPREDETERMINED PATH AND A SECOND PORTION CONTROLLABLY GUIDING OUTERLONGITUDINAL AREAS OF SAID SLIT MATERIAL THROUGH PREDETERMINED DIVERGENTPATHS AND INTO SAID FLAT PLANE, SAID OPENING FRAME BEING SO RELATED TOSAID PREDETERMINED AXIS AND TO SAID FLAT PLANE THAT ALL LONGITUDINALPORTIONS OF SID MATERIAL ARE CONTROLLABLY GUIDED THROUGH PATHS OF EQUALLENGTH IN TRAVELLING TO A PREDETERMINED TRANSVERSE LINE IN SAID PLANE.4. THE METHOD OF SLITTING AND OPENING TUBULAR MATERIAL WHICH COMPRISESADVANCING THE MATERIAL LONGITUDINALLY, SLITTING ONE LAYER OF THEMATERIAL ALONG ONE SIDE AS IT ADVANCES PAST A PREDETERMINED POINT,IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER DIRECTING THE SLIT EDGES OF THE MATERIAL INDIVERGENT DIRECTIONS UNTIL THE MATERIAL IS IN FLAT OPEN WIDTH FORM IN APREDETERMINED PLANE, AND CONTROLLABLY DIRECTING THE IN-